Urine Garden

Skeleton of God evolved from an earlier death metal band called Hideous Corpse (who made a competent but generic demo in 1992). The “Urine Garden” EP was recorded one year later, but is anything but generic. This is spiky, quirky death metal that revels in its own contradictions. It captures a loose, ‘slacker’ vibe and marries this with tight and proficient playing. These guys spent as much time in the practice room as they did smoking weed (perhaps the two activities were simultaneous).

The record conforms to some of the emergent ‘brutal’ death metal tropes while ignoring others. There is plenty of blasting and deep growling, but it doesn’t sound like Suffocation or Broken Hope. The core of the band’s sound lies in the slower, more angular and ‘jolting’ sections. There is a lilting, relaxed vibe to some of the riffs (the beginning of the title track is a good example, with weird murmuring vocals in the background). The odd sense of melody sounds a bit like Demilich. The bouncing, athletic riffs remind me of Ripping Corpse and the New Jersey death metal scene. There is plenty of groove, always delivered with a swagger and looseness (the section after the first minute of "Withered Humans" is the best example).

There are some good (if atypical) solos, often hiding behind a swirling riff without dominating the flow of the music. Such solos are unlikely to convince the melodic purists, but they suit the band’s aesthetic. Perhaps more notable is the insane number of pinch harmonics squeaking all over the place (it would sound tiresome in less capable hands). The production provides a good basis for capturing it all, there is space for the lead playing when needed, but the guitar is a little lower in the mix than expected. This gives the drums extra prominence, and they sound great.

“Urine Garden” is an odd piece of death metal brutality that invites you to pay attention (rather than forcing you to do so). One of the early band photos features a guy wearing an MC Escher shirt. This is an apt indication of the music and the mindset behind it. This is a trippy, somewhat eerie record. I don't listen to it often, but it always surprises me when I do. Add it to the list of good and unique records from the golden age of the genre. Give it a few listens though, it improves with time.

Once in a while, you stumble upon one of those obscure, but intriguing hidden gems that nobody ever seems to talk about. That's what this release is anyway; a short, nasty little package of four songs (plus a 'novelty' outro) of some of the greatest death metal ever created. You know, if it weren't for the band's liquidation shortly following the release of this, I can guarantee that they would be a highly-lauded name in brutal death metal. Perhaps the band's location of Nederland, here in Colorado wasn't exactly a place known for much exposure back in the early days of death metal, but nonetheless, this band's originality and pure creativity on this outshines most death metal albums at large! There's more off-kilter hookiness and artistic propensity in these four songs than many bands could fit into an entire album, frankly. Everything about this EP; from the cover, the lyrics and most importantly: the music, it's all here drenched in spastic, bizarre intensity, and creating one hell of a piece of work.

SoG claim to have always been influenced by psychedelic music and the like, and such an interest certainly shows in how these songs are structured. There's no distinct use of effects of heavy psychedelic sound reverb, yet the riffing and songwriting is contorted and warped in alien fashions that can only structurally allude to the wavering patterns of psychedelic rhythm. I have noticed that some people compare this band to Demilich, and in all honesty, there are actually some comparisons to be found. While I'd personally describe this as 'Demilich as a brutal death metal band', both bands conjure up spacey, cosmic, convulsive riffing that exudes an atmosphere that falls well outside the normal confines of average death metal. And after familiarizing myself a bit more with music theory and such, I have come to notice that, much like Demilich, SoG were quite possibly the only other death metal band that wrote music bereft of chromatic/harmonic melody. The riffing is quite complicated, and when a band manages to create absolutely infectious brutality with the use of minimum melody, it creates a refreshing, netherworldly feel that is difficult to create, much less master. And in my opinion, while Skeleton don't quite reach the bizarre, alien feel of Nespithe, their music is somehow more infectious and downright memorable.

However, Skeleton's sound is certainly more dense and brutal. After all, this is a 'brutal' death metal release, and it achieves a visceral level of intense musicality that makes this album full of sheer replay value. And what comes as even more of a surprise, is the fact that this band may also be the original progenitors of the 'slam' style of riffing, which is by all means, another mark of their sheer uniqueness. However, they do not overuse it, and therefore don't create music which grows lumberingly stale. And that's exactly what makes this release so special: twisted, spacey rhythms infused with dense brutality and a sense of massive, pummeling groove to create one of the most downright intense and hooky pieces of metal ever. Check out "Ten Second Infinity" and "Spiritual Schizophilia" to hear 'slam' with purpose and appeal. The riffing squirms and undulates in acrobatic fashions as they lead into massive, crushing grooves and spiral freely into a punchy cacophony of brutal alien psychosis. Another thing I also love about these songs are the use of those brief, spacey spoken word bits. They actually really add a somewhat psychotic and unstable mood within the music, and actually offer some original variety, as an interesting contrast to Jeff's remarkably brutal vocals. Even right from the beginning, the band churns out a totally original spacey intro, with a lurid spoken word segment over wacky polyrhythmic pinch harmonics, before jumping into suffocating brutality. Still one of the most original and special beginnings to any death metal release. There's really no 'proper' soloing to be found either, but rather spastic, frenetic leads that adds greatly to the feel. Perhaps reminiscent of Trey Azagthoth's frenzied fret squealing, though not quite as elaborate. The only thing that really isn't up to par here in the production. It's grainy, dense and compressed, though the instruments are clearly distinguishable. In all honesty, it's almost as if the production is denser than the actual guitar tone. It creates an interesting feel, which I do like, though I wish the guitars had more breathing room.

It's really a shame that these guys disbanded for 15 years after the release of this. This EP shows a wealth of promise, but most importantly; totally original and creative material that deserves for more credit than what it receives. The brevity of this really makes you wish this was a full-length. These guys reunited back in 2008, and released their first proper full-length the same year, which is even more strange than this. It bears a far more layered and overtly psychedelic style, that makes something new of metal entirely, and bears little resemblance to this. However, Skeleton of God has always been a one-of-a-kind band with inventive ideas, and this is a creation of brutal greatness from four minds who knew just how turn death metal into a psychotic monster of pure delight.